Induction of high kidney graft survival rate by multiple transfusion

In 33 centres that adopted a policy of liberal preoperative blood transfusion 174 recipients of cadaver donor transplants were followed up. Those who received no pretransplant transfusions had a 23% 1-year graft survival rate whereas those who had greater than 10 transfusions had an 87% survival rate (p less than 0.000001). 3% of those transfused acquired highly reactive cytotoxic antibodies and greater than 70% had no antibodies, so transfusions do not exert their beneficial effect by excluding strong immune responders. Since transplant survival rates improved with the number of transfusions, they probably produce their beneficial effect by inducing a state of unresponsiveness. Multiple transfusion seems a simple and effective way of improving kidney transplant survival rates. Moreover, the immunosuppressive effect is specific in that it does not alter the immune response to infectious agents.